James was Canada's perennial scoring threat no matter where and when she played.

Angela James, who was dubbed the 'Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey,' was born December 22, 1964 in Toronto, Ontario.

James grew up playing road hockey with the boys in her neighbourhood. During that era, it was impossible for Angela to find a women's ice hockey team, so she played on boys' teams, although struggled to get ice time. She played hockey at Seneca College, and led her team to several championships, eventually being honoured with having her number 8 retired by the school.

Beginning in the late-1970s, Angela played in the Ontario Women's Hockey Association, where she dominated. While leading her team to numerous OWHA league and provincial championships, she was the leading scorer in eight seasons and most valuable player in six. Her style was described as a combination of the aggressiveness of Mark Messier combined with the pure goal-scoring talent of Mike Bossy.

James was part of four Women's ice hockey World Championships with Team Canada.

In 1990, she was selected to join Canada's team at the inaugural Women's Championship, held in Ottawa, where she led the team to the gold medal with 11 goals in 5 games. She also led the Women's Team to gold medals in 1992 in Tampere, Finland, 1994 in Lake Placid, United States and 1997 in Kitchener, Ontario. In 1996 and 1999, James led Canada to gold medals in the Three Nations Cup. Another gold medal was earned by the James-led Canadian team at the Pacific Rim International tournament.

In a controversial decision, Angela was excluded from Team Canada Women's Team for the 1998 Winter Olympics. Pundits were shocked -- from 1987 until that time, James had been Canada's perennial scoring threat no matter where and when she played.

Following an amendment to its by-laws in 2009, the Hockey Hall of Fame opened its doors to women, and welcomed Angela James in 2010.

In 2005, Hockey Canada honoured Angela with the Female Breakthrough Award, given for making significant contributions to the promotion and/or development of hockey for girls and women in Canada.

Angela was inducted into both the Black Hockey and Sports Hall of Fame and the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2008, she was one of three women inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame, the first in the Federation's history, joined by Cammi Granato and Geraldine Heaney. Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inducted James in 2009.

A superstar in women's hockey, James has received numerous other career awards and accolades. She won a Youth of the Year Award in 1985 and was recognized by the City of Toronto as one of its Women in Sport Enhancement in 1992. In 2008, the Angela James Bowl was instituted, awarded annually to the leading scorer in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). Flemingdon Park Arena was renamed Angela James Arena in 2009.

Following an amendment to its by-laws in 2009, the Hockey Hall of Fame opened its doors to women, and welcomed Angela James in 2010.

Today, Angela James is the sports co-ordinator at her alma mater, Seneca College, in Toronto. She also owns and operates the Breakaway Adult Hockey School.